1st run - I got out to the 5-mile tempo course for a tempo run this afternoon, and things went pretty well. I took Phoenix's advice to run 20 minutes and maybe pick up the pace towards the end. I warmed up 2 miles and got into it. The first mile I had a hard time judging my pace, and I was all over the place. I bounced between 1:20 and 1:25 for the quarters, reaching the first mile in 5:31. At that point I tried to relax my stride and the quarters started rolling more consistently, and I felt much better. I reached 2 miles in 10:59 and the turnaround in 13:43, then let the pace open up a bit over the next mile. I got up on my forefeet to test the calf, and it felt fine then and feels fine now. Good news. I can't remember the splits too well, but I reached 3 miles in 16:22 and 3.5 in 18:58. At that point I eased up a bit and coasted the final minute at 5:30 pace. It felt like coasting, anyway.
So that means that last mile was 5:15, with the final 800m in 2:36. I felt comfortable at 5:30 pace, which is good. 5:15 was pushing me into tougher territory, but I felt like I could have finished the 5-mile course at that pace with a moderately hard effort. Splits: Mile 1 - 5:31 Mile 2 - 10:59 (5:28) 2.5 miles - 13:43 (2:44, turnaround) 3.0 miles - 16:22 (2:39) 3.5 miles - 18:58 (2:36) 3.6875 miles - 20:00 (1:02 = 5:30 pace) Average pace - 5:25.4 PM - Added an easy 5.
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